Editing 2662: Physics Safety Tip
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This is another one of | + | {{incomplete|Created by a BOT PHYSICISTS ARE EXCITED ABOUT (STEP AWAY, BUSTER) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | This is another one of Randall's [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time a General Physics Safety Tip. Additionally, this comic serves to [[:Category: Book promotion|promote]] his new book: [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2], a book about answers to odd or strange science questions. | ||
− | + | In general, there are very narrow ranges of temperature, pressure, and chemical makeup humans can survive in. Human physicists necessarily spend all their time in these conditions and think of them as ordinary. The physics of these ordinary conditions has already been thoroughly studied, which makes them now familiar and boring. Instead physicists get excited to study more extreme conditions, most of which would be quickly lethal to humans — anything from the core of stars to the vacuum of space and many, many things in between. Thus, extreme conditions are very dangerous for most organisms. Even for especially resilient organisms, such as tardigrades, there is a point past which they will [https://what-if.xkcd.com/141/ stop being biology and start being physics], in which case their resilience will not save them. Thus if a physicist is excited about something, it likely exists in circumstances where your own existence — as well as other life — would meet an end. One (partial) exception is particle beams; {{w|Anatoli Bugorski|people can stick their heads in particle beams and survive — but not unscathed}}. Also, physicists used to be excited about (particles produced by) cosmic rays before they had powerful accelerators. | |
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
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+ | :General Physics Safety Tip: | ||
+ | :[The next line of text is shown in gray.] | ||
+ | :(From ''What If 2'', xkcd.com/whatif2) | ||
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+ | :[A flowchart consisting of three rectangular boxes, a diamond box, and three arrows is shown.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | :[The first rectangular box, at the top, is the starting point. It says:] | ||
+ | :Should I stand near this thing? | ||
+ | |||
+ | :[A down-pointing arrow leads to a diamond decision box. Two arrows lead from it, one pointing to the right and labeled "No", the other pointing down and labeled "Yes". The diamond box reads:] | ||
+ | :Are physicists excited about it? | ||
− | + | :[The "No" arrow from the diamond box leads to the following rectangular box:] | |
− | :[ | + | :Maybe |
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− | :[The | + | :[The "Yes" arrow from the diamond box leads to the following rectangular box:] |
− | + | :No | |
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
+ | [[Category:Tips]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Physics]] | ||
[[Category:Flowcharts]] | [[Category:Flowcharts]] | ||
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[[Category:Book promotion]] | [[Category:Book promotion]] | ||
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